2- In my previous post, I touched upon the accumulation of lactic acid (lactate) in the blood. When you cool down, blood flow is maintained at a lower level, which makes the movement of lactate out of your muscles more efficient. If you were to abruptly stop exercising, you'd delay the removal of extra lactate from your muscles. During prolonged exercise, lactate is an important fuel for your body. Afterwards, however, excess lactate can lead to muscle fatigue.

3- In addition, cooling down allows heart rate and respiration rate gradually return to normal. In short, this means that we're more comfortable, faster. I notice that when I run, my heart rate is closer to normal one hour after a run if I've cooled down for 10 minutes than if I skipped a cool-down.

(Manitoba Marathon. "Training - Warm Up & Cool Down." Manitoba Marathon. Manitoba Lotteries Corporations, 2009. Web. 03 Sept. 2009. <http://www.manitobamarathon.mb.ca/training_warm_up.aspx>.)

To sum it all up, cool-downs improve exercise recovery.

What Are My Options?

Remember, like when warming up, your RPE should be between 6 through 11.

My favorite way to cool down is to gradually slow the intensity of the exercise I'm doing. When I'm running, I spend 5 minutes jogging lightly, then 5 minutes walking. Weight lifters often lift the last set at a lighter weight than earlier sets.

Brisk walking can serve as a cool down to any exercise. For example, if you're hiking up a mountain, try walking for 5 minutes on a flat surface before stopping to enjoy the view.

As I've experienced firsthand, warming up improves my performance during training, while cooling down aids recovery and makes me feel better after my workouts. Although not directly related to blood sugar control, warming up and cooling down are much-neglected parts of exercise, which is an essential (and fun!) part of diabetes management.